Grants.gov has been designated by the Office of Management and Budget as the single access point for all grant programs offered by 26 federal grant-making agencies. These federal agencies have developed a common form, the SF424 (R&R) application form, in order to provide a consistent look and feel to grant applications across federal agencies. The goal of Grants.gov is to give applicants one convenient place to find and apply for grant opportunities.

Plans for Selected Federal Agencies

With the December 1, 2005 submission deadline, NIH began transitioning to the SF424 (R&R) forms and electronic submission through Grants.gov by research program and funding mechanism. A submission schedule of the proposed transition dates is available on the NIH website.

AHRQ joined NIH in the transition from the PHS 398 application form to the SF 424 (R&R) application form, and to electronic submission of grant applications. With the December 20, 2005 submission deadline, AHRQ began its transition to the SF 424 (R&R) form and electronic submission through Grants.gov by individual research funding mechanism.

HRSA no longer accept applications for grant opportunities in paper form. Applicants submitting new, renewal, and a selected number of continuation applications are required to submit electronically through Grants.gov for all opportunities posted after January 1, 2006. All applicants must submit in this manner unless the applicant is granted a written exemption from this requirement in advance by HRSA.

What Does This Mean for WCMC?

The RASP office continues to guide the Weill Cornell Medical College research community in the transition from a paper-based grant application process to an electronic one by helping them acquaint themselves with the new forms, technology, and procedural changes involved in the quickly evolving electronic submission program of Grants.gov. RASP will continue to provide information to WCMC through broadcast email messages and will post these messages on our website. We will also provide training sessions and materials throughout the transition process.

RASP Procedure and Deadline Summary

The investigator prepares the application electronically and sends it to RASP via an email attachment. The RASP office submits the application to the Grants.gov site on the investigator's behalf. Applications requiring electronic submission must be submitted to RASP at least seven (7) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline. The application must be complete and final, with the exception of the science which may be a draft, and must be accompanied by all relevant internal paperwork. The final application, which includes the final scientific proposal or research plan, must be submitted to RASP two (2) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline.

Registration

Grants.gov requires a one-time registration by the applicant organization, which has been completed by Weill Cornell Medical College. Principal Investigators (PIs), referred to as Grant Researchers in Grants.gov, do not register in Grants.gov. Michelle A. Lewis, Director, Research & Sponsored Programs, is the WCMC Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) in Grants.gov.

Both institutions and PIs must complete a one-time registration in the eRA Commons. eRA Commons registration allows NIH and AHRQ to receive applications submitted through Grants.gov. It also provides a way for AHRQ and NIH to communicate electronically with registered users after submission. If you plan to submit a NIH application through Grants.gov and are not yet registered in the eRA Commons, please contact RASP.

Using Adobe-based Application Packages to Submit to Grants.gov

If you are submitting a new, resubmission, renewal, or revision application through Grants.gov, you must use a Grants.gov-compatible version of Adobe to create your application and have it submitted by RASP. Adobe Pro 9.2 is the recommended software for anyone who works on Grants.gov applications at WCMC. To download it please visit http://rasp-adobe.med.cornell.edu. Once Adobe Pro 9.2 is on your computer we recommend removing Adobe Reader and Standard and letting Adobe Pro take care of all your Adobe needs. If you have any difficulty installing, using, or removing these programs please contact ITS support at 212-746-4878 or support@med.cornell.edu. For more information on the Adobe application forms, see FAQs: Adobe Grants.gov Applications.

To locate the guidelines and the Adobe-based application package for your funding opportunity, visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html. Click "Apply for Grant Electronically" within the specific instructions to download the grant application package (you may use either ADOBE-FORMS-B1 or ADOBE-FORMS-B2 packages for deadlines on/before January 7, 2012, but NIH strongly encourages applicants to use ADOBE-FORMS-B2 whenever possible) and the NIH general instructions ("B Series" SF424 (R&R) Application Guide).

Submitting to RASP for Review and Approval

Once you have completed your application, look to the top of your electronic grant application in order to finalize the application. Click the "Check Package for Errors" button, correct any errors identified through this check, and then click the "Save" button. Your grant application package is now ready for you to send to RASP for review and submission. Send it to RASP as an email attachment by addressing the email to Grants-gov@med.cornell.edu. If the attachment is too large to send through Eudora, please send it using the WCMC File Transfer Service.

RASP also requires submission of the Electronic Routing Form (ERF) and other relevant internal paperwork in order to review and submit your application.

On-Time Submission

Starting January 25, 2011, applications submitted through Grants.gov must be error-free prior to the deadline. Correcting NIH eRA Commons-identified errors and warnings after the deadline will no longer be an option. Changed/Corrected applications can still be submitted BEFORE the deadline. Changed/Corrected applications submitted AFTER the deadline (to address system identified errors/warnings) will no longer be accepted.

Once RASP submits an application on behalf of an investigator, RASP and the PI will receive system-generated email messages regarding the progress of the application through the system. These messages are typically sent within two hours, but can take up to two days. Because it can take up to two days to be notified that an application has failed the validation checks, investigators must finalize applications in time to submit through RASP, correct any validation errors, and resubmit through RASP prior to the deadline. The final application, which includes the scientific proposal or research plan, must be submitted to RASP two (2) business days prior to the sponsor's deadline. Please be aware that applications received by RASP after the two day deadline may not be accepted as "on time" by the sponsor.